We get a lot of questions about marketing small businesses, so this blog should answer quite a few of them for you. Feel free to reach out to us directly if you’ve still got any questions at the end of it!
1. How Long Do I Need to Do SEO For?
Like growing a tree, SEO isn’t an overnight activity, and the best time to start would’ve been ten years ago. But the second best time to start would be now!
In the same vein, if that tree stopped receiving water and nutrients from the soil, how long would it continue to grow? Your SEO campaign works the same way. It should be continually worked on to keep bringing in those results for years to come.
2. Does a Small Local Business Really Need Digital Marketing?
Absolutely. Unless you are the smallest of mom and pop shops who take none but repeat business and couldn’t FIT one more new customer in if they reached out to you… you need a website and a digital marketing campaign.
3. Will I Get Immediate Traffic with Google Ads?
It’s as instant as flipping a switch. When your Google Ads campaign is set up properly, you should begin to see traffic immediately.
Whether or not they reach out or make a purchase is going to be largely dependent on how cohesive your marketing strategy is – you need a great website and an ad campaign that are synchronized, and a great marketing company will cover all these bases and more.
While SEO usually takes a few months to set up and get off the ground, a simple web page that converts visitors into leads can be set up with ads to drive traffic to it pretty quickly.
4. How Does Video Content Affect My SEO?
Video has been gaining in importance in Google’s eyes.
With their interest in providing users with interesting, unique and informative content, video is a prime way to attract Google’s attention. It can also get linked to more often, enhancing your SEO efforts, and keep visitors entertained longer (longer session times and lower bounce rates), which helps too.
5. Do I Really Need a Blog in 2020?
The more content you have, the more chances you have to attract Google bots, and with those bots, the actual visitors you are targeting. Blogs add valuable content to the site, and show that you are updating the site regularly, building trust with viewers. Most conversions from visitor to lead come from posts on the site, and they are quite valuable!
6. What is the Patient Journey on an Inbound Marketing Strategy?
When we create your inbound marketing strategy, the usual journey from visitor to patient looks something like this:
- Patient searches online for a solution to their pain
- They are brought to your blog, where they learn more about their condition or your treatment
- They click through to another page on the site, learn more about the solutions offered
- They reach out to you to take advantage of a complimentary consultation
7. Should I Buy a List of Email Addresses?
It’s best to grow the email list organically, by offering valuable insights and updates that patients really want to hear. You can have an opt-in on your blog and a way to sign up in the practice that will keep potential patients up-to-date on the things they want to hear, without violating any CAN-SPAM laws or annoying prospective patients.
8. Is Email Marketing Important?
We help a lot of clients with what we call a “drip campaign” – a regular flow of emails that isn’t too much to be annoying, but it keeps you at the top of their mind when it comes to their health. It helps to educate them while building interest in your services and guess who they’ll turn to next time they have knee pain?
9. How Can I Judge My Email Marketing Campaign’s Success?
By the percentage of emails that actually get delivered to the intended recipients, the percentage that gets opened by them, and what percentage of those who opened it actually clicked through to the website. You also have higher-level KPIs such as how many reached out to the clinic or scheduled a complimentary consultation as a result of the campaign.
10. Which Elements of a Digital Marketing Campaign Should I Prioritize?
When we’re looking at what’s going to get you the most value for your budget, SEO is always at the top of the list. You’re building long-term value for a low monthly price, and this can pay off for years to come. Implementing paid ads is a quick way to drive immediate traffic and business, and a comprehensive marketing funnel will round out the entire marketing plan to help drive potential patients from one step of the journey to the next.
We often recommend including text message marketing as well, as this has a 209% better return than emails, Facebook, or even the phone.
Reach out to us if we can answer any other questions for you!